The CiminoCare Story
Three Generations of Caring
Our deep commitment to Senior Care can be traced directly to our unique history, that now spans three generations of the Cimino family. From the outset, the focus has always been on providing compassionate care. Our humble origins can be traced to Florence, Italy, where Wilma Cimino — then Wilma Tanzini — was born. She was raised in a close-knit family that survived the Occupation during World War II and ultimately moved to the United States. It was soon after her arrival in the San Francisco Bay Area as a young woman that she met her future husband, John Cimino, a carpenter and native San Franciscan, also of Italian descent.
Wilma and John settled in Burlingame, California, where they raised five children in a household that reflected the charm and warmth of the Old World values both attribute to their Italian ancestry.
They became an integral part of the local community and considered their neighbors part of their extended family.
Given Wilma’s inherent empathy and demonstrated eagerness to help others, the family doctor once asked if she would be willing to assist a sick neighbor. She enthusiastically agreed to help. As was quickly evident, Wilma’s gift was a passion for caregiving. She committed to helping others and, as a result, set a course that would ultimately lead to building a dedicated home for those who sought her care. In 1988, Burlingame Villa was created. Such was the beginning of CiminoCare.
During those early years, Wilma often brought the Cimino children on her daily rounds to help others. Not only did this add the therapeutic value that Seniors gain from the presence of children and an expanded sense of family, the Cimino children were immersed in a culture of caregiving. And it is that same culture that is palpable throughout our organization today.
Our growth as a company has been driven by that same passion for caregiving, not simply for growth’s sake. As a family-owned, family-operated business, CiminoCare has never been about maximizing profits at the expense of providing quality care. Our communities exist to serve the residents and their families, not a remote corporate office or board of directors. The path we’ve followed has often led to the addition of communities that are struggling to provide quality care in the face of overwhelming competition from large, corporate conglomerates, with their emphasis on expense control and volume. CiminoCare’s decades of care experience, coupled with expertise in successfully operating communities at a business level, has allowed these new communities to thrive once under CiminoCare’s management.
Caregiving is about people. In that “caring” is our business, we make our investment in people. And that is something that can be felt once inside any CiminoCare community. Which is why we encourage you to get in touch to schedule a visit to see how our history has shaped our future.
